Though the Opp City Council took no action, estimates show it will take upwards of $30,000 to get the Hardin Street pool operable for next summer.

In early October, the city council agreed to give residents in District 4 one more summer to prove that the pool is being used enough to justify keeping it open, or it will close.

At that meeting, Mayor Becky Bracke said she would like to close the pool on Hardin Street and build a splash pad, with playground equipment.

The pool is in Opp’s minority district, and is in disrepair, needing a new motor, tank and filters for its pump.

The city spent $60,000 last year to repair cracks in the pool, and it cost the city $4,000 to run the pool this summer, not including energy.

Reports indicate that the city only brought in $400 in admission fees.

At the October meeting, Councilman LaVaughn Hines, who represents the district, said that people in his district could not afford the $1 per day to use the city’s pools.

He also said that he did not feel that a splash pad was equivalent to the pool.

This is not the first time there has been debate or question about whether to keep the pool open.

At one time, there were three functioning pools in Opp operated by the city – one on Hardin Street, one behind the First Methodist Church and one owned by the Opp and Micolas Mills.

In the last few years, the city of Opp spent more than $400,000 to build a new pool across town. That pool opened last year.